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Anti-Piracy Lawyers Accuse Blind Man of Downloading Films
souravzzz writes "As the mass-lawsuits against BitTorrent users in the United States drag on, detail on the collateral damage this extortion-like scheme is costing becomes clear. It is likely that thousands of people have been wrongfully accused of sharing copyrighted material, yet they see no other option than to pay up. One of the cases that stands out is that of a California man who's incapable of watching the adult film he is accused of sharing because he is legally blind."
What if the movie he downloaded caused his blindness in the first place!? Check his palms!
So what? Why is him being blind mean he couldn't have still downloaded it? Does his blindness somehow make him unable to download movies as opposed to any other type of file? If someone is deaf does that mean there is no possibly way they could have downloaded cds?
Was the film in braille?
the guy is legally blind because of all the porn he downloaded and the activity he presumably would have partook in afterward?
Uh, you are aware that he is accused of SHARING the movie, not watching it, right? Being sighted is not a requirement for sharing a movie.
Maybe he just wanted to listen to the deep conversation and intricate plot points. You know, just like some people buy playboy to read the articles...
Damn_registrars has no butt-hole. Damn_registrars has no use for a butt-hole.
http://www.tvlicensing.co.uk/check-if-you-need-one/for-your-home/blindseverely-sight-impaired-aud5/
from the page ..
You can get a 50% reduction on the TV Licence fee if you’re blind/severely sight impaired.
Your licence will also cover anyone who lives with you.
You need a TV Licence if you wish to watch or record television programmes as they're being
shown on TV. This includes the use of devices such as a TV, computer, mobile phone,
games console, digital box or DVD/VHS recorder.
the network-security professional recounts the rookie mistake that got him into this mess.
"I didn't have time to set up the wireless network in my old apartment,"
This is not a mistake. Providing a free wireless Internet connection to neighbors is legal. An IP address is not a person.
hair you numbnut, its the oldest joke in the freakin book
Currently the minimal threshold for filing suit is way too low. The "rights holders" here surely have some colorable claim that infringement happened (i.e. some kind of network monitoring log, and a claim from an ISP that the monitored IP address belonged to this guy). So far US courts have decided that this is enough to file a lawsuit, something which creates a lot of work for lawyers and greatly advantages those who file extortionate suits -- the cost of actually defending a suit like this (tends of thousands of dollars) is much higher than the cost of settling. Worse, by filing suit the plaintiffs get the right to use the courts to coerce the defendant into assisting in the investigation (and to pay the costs of that!).
A second problem is that even if you are successful in defending a lawsuit you are unlikely to get your legal (let alone indirect) costs reimbursed.
So, the solution is: first, to require more evidence before a lawsuit can be filed, and, second, to make cost shifting the default when a lawsuit is dismissed on the pleading.
Well, Bruce Schneier doesn't put a password on his WiFi either for that matter from what I hear.
Qu'on me donne six lignes écrites de la main du plus honnête homme, j'y trouverai de quoi le faire pendre.
Just because someone is legally blind, does not mean they have no sight whatsoever. There is a massive difference. I do know people who are legally blind who download and watch plenty of things. They can see, but just not very well. It is possible this guy could watch porn, he just can't legally drive a car.
So far they've brought lawsuits on dead people, children, and now a blind guy. What's next, someone who doesn't even own a computer? Oh wait, they totally did that already.
Playing devil's advocate here, but did it occur to anyone that maybe he downloaded it for the audio? A solid audio track can let the imagination run wild :)
So, you never looked at your hands afterwards? :)
A successful API design takes a mixture of software design and pedagogy.
There are plenty of reason why a blind individual could be downloading porn. Audio being one. Or for boosting ratio. Or just for the heck of sharing. Maybe he downloaded it for a friend? Maybe his neighbor was using his internet connection. Hell, maybe it was his wife. There are plenty of reasons, even if they are stupid ones. I'm all for torrenting, but to think someone is innocent because they downloaded a movie they can't see is just stupid.
I would be cautious about that, some ISP contracts do require you to take steps to secure your wireless if you have one, and otherwise make you agree to be liable to anything that happens with the internet access they are providing to you.
It may not be a crime, per se, but it can be illegal as a contract violation.
"The amusement quickly turned to anxiety. Doe, then living in Santa Clara, Calif., had just accepted a job in the network-security division of a Seattle software company. (He is able to work using a pair of computer programs that read his e-mails aloud and magnify a portion of his computer screen.) The mere suggestion that he swaps illicit smut online could jeopardize his career."
"'I didn't have time to set up the wireless network in my old apartment,' he says. 'I was working 18-hour days so I just told my wife to go to Best Buy and pick up a router. She installed it, hit next, next, finish, and boom, that was it. We lived in a very upscale building, there was no riffraff. We just assumed we didn't have anything to worry about.'"
Isn't the fact that he's working in network security and didn't secure his own wireless network, assuming there was nothing to worry about, much more damaging to his career than whatever porn he may or may not have pirated.
maybe the lady shaves...
A former RIAA lobbyist, Beryl Howell, is a now a federal judge ruling on these copyright extortion cases and siding with the extortionists:
This appointment mischief was covered previouslyon Slashdot.
As pointed out previously, Beryl Howard is a Obama appointee, and not his first RIAA appointee.
Ceci n'est pas une signature.
In anticipation of the innovation of digital "Smell-o-Vision", by pornographers.
"Flyin' in just a sweet place,
Never been known to fail..."
For those that do use bittorrent for movies, why do you still do it ? The question isn't about the propriety but rather the risk. It takes a $1 to rent a movie from Redbox and about an hour to rip it on a Core i7. That's as opposed to 3 hour/day/months to download it from the Net and you could wind up getting a bad encode as well as a case of the lawyer - ISP crabs. Granted Redbox doesn't do porn, but places like SugarDVD do and you get to choose what you want.
The question isn't about the propriety but rather the risk.
The risk is probably pretty small if you know what you're doing.
It takes a $1 to rent a movie from Redbox and about an hour to rip it on a Core i7.
Well, for people that do pirate these movies, they might not want to make any trips or sign up for any services. Or, if they're "greedy" by most peoples' standards, they might just want to save a dollar.
And perhaps the time it takes them to download it and such is irrelevant to them. All they're really doing most of that time is waiting, and typically, they can do other things while they wait. Maybe it just doesn't matter to them if it'll take a bit longer.
and you could wind up getting a bad encode
Probably not likely if you pay attention to comments (assuming they exist).
Filthy, filthy copyrapists!
If you don't do it, that won't get rid of your risk. Cue the stories about people without computers being sued.
Whooosh. I'll ruin the joke, but I guess it has to be explained. When you masturbate, you're likely to pull your pubic hair out (no matter your gender). They may well get stuck between your fingers and other areas of your hand. intellitech was thinking about "cum shot residue" -- that's close enough, but it'd be too obvious to make a good joke IMHO. The joke is, thus, that you can check if someone masturbates by looking inside their palms/between their fingers for pubic hair. Of course it's only a joke: if for nothing else than men and women still like to occasionally scratch themselves on their privates, and may as well pull a pubic hair or two without having to masturbate. Is that clear?
A successful API design takes a mixture of software design and pedagogy.
He can see the movie magically in his head as it plays. He envisions the movie's "psychic vibe rays" in the air as it is projected across to the wall. He can do this in real time, before the light actually hits the wall, so he can see the movie's end before anyone else can. All good psychics can, you know!
When you masturbate, you're likely to pull your pubic hair out (no matter your gender).
Surely this depends on how you masturbate, how well endowed you are, how hirsute you are, whether you're mutilated or not, and a bunch of other factors.
Yeah, no. That makes no sense, and that's not the joke. The joke comes from the very old myth that masturbating makes one grow hair on their palms (hence everyone will know you're a bad person).
Don't explain if you don't know the explanation.
Yeah, no. That makes no sense, and that's not the joke. The joke comes from the very old myth that masturbating makes one grow hair on their palms (hence everyone will know you're a bad person).
It's not a myth so much as it is a way for nosy parents and priests to check whether kids have started masturbating. Mention this lie while talking between adults, and if the kids sneak looks at their palms, they probably have. Not that it's any business of the adults.
"because of the nature of the swarm downloads . . . every infringer is simultaneously stealing copyrighted material."
No, not stealing. Stealing copyrighted material is going into the store and shoplifting a DVD. Don't they teach grammar in law school?
A fair point, but that number is probably small compared to the ones who were actually downloading.
I'm pretty certain that it's very much a business of an adult raising a child to know that his/her child has started masturbating. Problem arises when they (adults) react in a childish/stupid way to it. A good parent will put this information in good use.
Granted most parents that come from puritan cultures tend to react to this information very badly.
...because of the loss of 'civic virtue'. Me, I'm trying to figure out whether the institutionalized acceptance of any immoral act as long as it is for profit is a separate and distinct cause, or just a symptom of the loss of 'civic virtue'.
Orwell: "In a Time of Universal Deceit, telling the Truth is a Revolutionary Act"
"When you masturbate, you're likely to pull your pubic hair out (no matter your gender)."
Pubic hair?
How old _are_ you?
I guess meta jokes are not all the rage anymore, huh? Anyway, obviously the real answer is that masturbation is what makes blind people get beautiful eyelashes. There.
The discussion that follows is hilarious enough, that was my intent, if half-assed. Mission accomplished?
A successful API design takes a mixture of software design and pedagogy.
I think the biggest reason people pirate movies is simply convenience. It's the same reason people use Redbox and Netflix. The problem with Redbox is the selection is extremely limited. It really only works if you are interested in the newest and most popular movies. Redbox also requires a physical trip, and while a few mile drive may not seem like much, a few miles is still a lot more than none (particularly if you live through Minnesota winters like me).
Netflix has a lot better selection, but it still doesn't come anywhere close to what is available to pirate (there are even out-of-print movies). A lot of Netflix's movies aren't available for streaming either, so a 15min torrent download is about 2 days faster than waiting 2 days for mail. I'm not sure what kind of internet you have that it takes days to download a movie, but a typical ripped/encoded movie torrent is only about 2GB.
Now I'm not saying these reasons excuse/justify movie piracy, I'm just giving some thoughts on why people still do it. I bet a lot of people don't even know about these anti-piracy lawsuits either (it seems like common knowledge to a slashdot user), and probably assume they aren't going to be sued for millions of dollars because that would be insane. ;)
Private trackers have a very low risk of "ISP crabs" and usually have screenshots and comments so you can see if the quality is good.
My experience is that only newer stuff is available at reasonable speeds. Most seeders stop seeding soon after their share ratio gets over one and that really hurts the longevity of less popular or older data. Nothing's worse than getting >90% of a a huge file only to have the last seeder with a full file drop off. Second, there's no such thing as a safe private tracker unless you're the only one who has access, along the same lines of the only way to keep a secret is not to tell anyone. Once you start adding people, even those you know well, the risk of a compromise goes up. If unknowns are ever added, then it's definitely not safe. That's compounded by the fact you need a reasonably sized population to get enough variety and seeders to make it worthwhile.
All that aside, I think the risk with bittorrent is too great now and getting worse. 100,000 users in the United States were sued last year and while most may get off, that's a large number compared to the number of people who actually use bittorrent in the U.S. . As money is made of these cases, you can expect that count and the number of lawyers participating to go up. Combined with the shame of being caught downloading porn, and I have no doubt you'll soon see some porn studios using shills to release their warez on the Net with the express purpose of suing those who download it.
( Meant as food for thought. I am not telling anyone what they should or shouldn't do).
See!? 2GB / 2 days = 12.13 kB/s. Netflix is barely better than dial-up!
I have left slashdot and am now on Soylent News. FUCK YOU DICE.
Oblig XKCD: Passwords are no fun!
And of course: There are some other tricks
Well, I might have a way, but it only works on a semi spherical planet in a vacuum.
I know for a fact atleast some blind people go to the movies because they can still hear the story.
Some movies (with actual stories and dialog) are better suited for this than others (from Hollywood), but the sounds of a typical porn might just get the job done for some blind folk.
Slashdot social media options: AIM, ICQ, Yahoo, Jabber and Mobile Text. Why no MySpace?
There's a quote I'd like to single out in that article from Voltage Pictures:
Essentially, because of the nature of the swarm downloads as described above, every infringer is simultaneously stealing copyrighted material from many ISPs in numerous jurisdictions around the country.
Next time somebody claims that downloading a film is analogous to stealing a car, I'm going to throw this one at them. "But I'm simultaneously stealing the car with a network of over 20, 000 of my peers, and each time one of them steals the car it creates a new car which is physically identical".
We need a term for copyright trolls - if they can compare duplicating data to the practise of attacking and robbing ships at sea, surely we can throw a dictionary of FUD analogies at them, right?
"The most dangerous enemy of a better solution is an existing codebase that is just good enough." -- Eric S. Raymond
, and if the kids sneak looks at their palms, they probably have.
Conversely, if the kids do not sneak a look, they probably have anyway.
I did know some blind people, granted fully blind as in being unable to see anything at all and while they did indeed hear tv and movies they did so mostly to fit in. It just isn't a medium aimed at them. Just as a deaf person might go to a concert just to experience it so he at least has some idea what everyone else is talking about or someone with no taste might go to a fine restaurant because that is where the party is being held.
The idea that a person with a very high degree of blindness watches porn is not completely insane but it is highly unlikely. It is described in the article just how blind he is, note he has to have his email read out to him. So he obviously can't even READ pure text comfortable enough, the magnyfying probably allows him to see buttons and hit checkboxes.
It is a different world, not completely seperate but there is a difference to listening to a movie so you can talk to your seeing friends AND listening to porn in private.
Just because some legally blind people can see something doesn't mean all can. 99% blind is damned fucking blind.
MMO Quests are like orgasms:
You may solo them, I prefer them in a group.
Answer: there is no Redbox DVD rental service in my location, you insensitive clod. :) The (legal) DVD stores in my location only sells old movies. The legal stores have actually reduced their price to match the price of an illegal DVD, but they still don't have the advantage of being able to sell the latest movies.
But there's no legal requirement to add password protection to wi-fi. Possibly his actual reason was plausible deniability in case he was sued for file sharing.
numbnut, a common side-effect.
It's much simpler than that. For hundreds of years religiously motivated parents tried to discourage their sons from masturbating by warning that they will grow hairy palms if they do (completely untrue of course).
That's what the joke is about.
Unicode killed the ASCII-art *
what has referring pubic hair, the correct term for it, got to do with any indication of age?
And the people shall be oppressed, every one by another, and every one by his neighbour Isaiah 3:5
Seeing those numbers reinforce my suspicion that ISP backends in US are set up based on numbers gathered in the dial-up era, while the usage pattern have changed.
comment first, facts later. http://chem.tufts.edu/AnswersInScience/RelativityofWrong.htm
And what business is it of society to say what business it is of the parents?
I think (s)he's is suggesting (s)he isn't old enough to have any...
End the FUD
It's a good attempt, but I think you're way off ...
Certain groups who view masturbation as sinful (*cough* Catholics *cough*), in an attempt to dissuade kids from doing it, would suggest that it would cause you to have hairy palms, or go blind. The implication being that engaging in that very sinful act would have long term consequences that would be visible to the outside world. Basically, shame and fear -- the usual.
I have never heard any body attempt to say that it's from your pubic hair falling out into your palm. I think you get a Whoosh for attempting to explain an idiom you don't know the origins of.
Lost at C:>. Found at C.
What possible good use is there for that piece of information? Knowing when leaving a copy of Sex for One under their bed is less likely to inspire confusion than embarrassment?
Uh, "if it looks roughly mouse-shaped according to my infra-red sensitive pit, eat it"? --Chris Burke 09-08-10
By this reasoning a porch light is illegal because it might be used for an illegal activity. And be sure to not help your neighbor as that could get you into deep trouble.
Providing Internet access can improve the quality of life and save lives. You have a moral obligation to provide access to your neighbors using an access point that supports guest access.
Our communities are more important than the off chance the RIAA will prey upon you.
i still don't get it.
Sorry, but you haven't been set up to feed that straight line.
'twas a meta-joke -- obviously I'm no good at it. I apologize.
A successful API design takes a mixture of software design and pedagogy.
This is a case of blind justice.
Obviously, people who are old enough know enough about zoology to be able to invoke, say, semi-aquatic nocturnal rodents. If you're into botany instead, you may talk of shrubs. Use of vernacular seems to be all-defining to some people. Talking like someone with at least half of a brain, seemingly makes you a kid. Hey, I wouldn't mind to be a kid again!
A successful API design takes a mixture of software design and pedagogy.
Well at least he's upgraded to IPv6.
"When information is power, privacy is freedom" - Jah-Wren Ryel
How the fuck do you get months?
I get months on some rare files that are seeded by one or maybe two who appear to be effectively on dial up and are dropping off/coming back, the way they limit their upload speeds. No, it doesn't happen on most files, but it does happen.
Thank you and all for your replies. You make some good points, particularly with the use of private trackers.
First:
"He is able to work using a pair of computer programs that read his e-mails aloud and magnify a portion of his computer screen."
Then:
"At least at the outset, he could remain anonymous. "
Yeah anonymous among all the other blind people going to work for a security company that uses an e-mail and a special computer screen.
The writer should have left his tools and the fact it's a IT firm.
The Kruger Dunning explains most post on
In the U.S. If your better eye is 20/200 or worse without aid of contact lens, then you are legally blind. I've known several people who are legally blind who can certainly see well enough to watch movies.
The argument these movies had no value because of his bad eyesight is bad is quite silly, in my opinion.
Free unix account: freeshell.org
Specious argument. People aren't being sued for downloading old out-of-print movies.
- For the complete works of Shakespeare: cat
You do realize women watch porn too right? So what he's blind doesn't mean his wife didn't watch it. Also he freely admits he can see something as he uses screen magnification at work to do his job. Not saying not innocent just it isn't only guys that watch porn and he isn't completely blind either so still a possibility that he did it.
RIFT, that is why and that is all.
Ah, so only poor riffraff would be interested in seeing naked women. Oh how naive.
does redbox/netflix carry porno and the latest tv-series without region discrimination and do you get to keep the file for later date? I thought not.
world was created 5 seconds before this post as it is.
the groaning!"
Bukowski said it. I believe it. That settles it.
Surely this depends on how you masturbate, how well endowed you are, how hirsute you are, whether you're mutilated or not, and a bunch of other factors.
Get out of my dreams!
.there is enough of everything for everyone.
And what business is it of society to say what business it is of the parents?
As long as children grow up to become politicians, policemen, doctors, nuclear powerplant engineers and other important pillars of society, it is indeed in society's interest to ensure that children won't become damaged by their parents.
I tried that, she bit my hand.
True enough, but since it takes place in the confines of the home, and from biological material that is of the parents in the first place, parents ARE entitled to be presumed to know what they are doing and to have every right to raise their children as they damn please so long as they are not harming them.
The burden of proof is on the child and on society to prove incompetence, not on the parent to prove correctness.
Hell, even the authority of schools is subordinate to parents, as "in loco parentis" means that the school is only exercising authority on behalf of the parents to begin with.
I don't think you understand what's on the wikipedia page you linked to. You might want to read it again.
http://www.acetonestudio.com
There's ample evidence from all of human history to show that sexually repressing people is harmful. Just look at the priests in the Roman Catholic Church.
Hint: masturbation is not that embarassing when you don't live in a puritan society and have a good relationship with your parents.
What nice culture you live in.
You know...wink wink, nudge nudge...
"Wanna see how good a blind man is with a computer, I can torrent too baby, yeah - watcha wanna watch, eh?"
What this world is coming to - is for you and me to decide.
"I didn't have time to set up the wireless network in my old apartment," he says. "I was working 18-hour days so I just told my wife to go to Best Buy and pick up a router. She installed it, hit next, next, finish, and boom, that was it. We lived in a very upscale building, there was no riffraff. We just assumed we didn't have anything to worry about."
Yes, this is the man that I want working network security. Nope, there's no possible way that this shows any incompetence on his part.
Because it means it's certainly time to have the slightly more extended version of the birds and the bees that also contains West Nile virus and colony collapse disorder...
Seriously, as a parent of an 8yo girl and 6yo boy they already know what makes mommy and daddy different, they already know the proper words for their private parts and the general social rules governing talking about them as well as touching/showing/having them touched. They, however, are sexually immature and thus do not need the burden of just exactly how a girl gets pregnant, what a plethora of nasties you can catch is you are not picky &&|| careful...
Once they are old enough to start masturbating, then they are likely old enough that the more detailed talks should begin. It is an indicator of physiological development, and can be used as such by a parent to be a *better parent*. (not to say there won't be some blushing by said child at onset of conversation)
whois gawk date unzip strip find touch finger mount join nice man top fsck grep eject more yes exit umount sleep dump
you saying there's some really good stuff amidst all the dreck 4chan is known for?
I wouldn't be surprised; I think the "there's a silver lining in every cloud" metaphor is actually quite accurate.
I listen to both RIAA and non-RIAA stuff if I like the music, tangential business/politics nonwithstanding.
There was a grand total of zero humor in this one, and 100% of sadness.
Ah. My family utilized National Geographic documentaries about wildlife and epidemics to initiate those conversations. Interesting fact: Most fetuses masturbate in utero after about six months, which is a hilarious way to really gross out conservative first time mothers.
Uh, "if it looks roughly mouse-shaped according to my infra-red sensitive pit, eat it"? --Chris Burke 09-08-10
Perhaps it is about propriety. My understanding is that you won't get in trouble for downloading (personal gain), but for uploading (giving to the community). If someone really thinks that sharing content with others is morally or ethically a good thing to do, then it stands to reason that giving up the practice because of intimidation just wouldn't be, well, proper.
...)
Not that every torrenter is a saint. The motivation might just be "fuck the man", which amounts to the same thing in a perverse way. Of course, there's always ignorance. The fact that an activity is a bad idea doesn't seem to prevent large numbers of people from engaging in it. (Smoking, any number of bad driving habits, unprotected sex, being belligerent to police, posting compromising photos online, developing in Flash